Carli Lloyd and Team USA Win 2008 Peace Queen Cup
Jun 22 | Women's Soccer
SUWON, South Korea - Former Rutgers star Carli Lloyd started as the U.S. Women's National Team defeated Canada 1-0 in the championship of the Peace Queen Cup. Angela Hucles scored in stoppage time of the second half to give Team USA the victory. Incoming RU freshman Jonelle Filigno (Mississauga, Ontario) and assistant coach Karina LeBlanc are both members of the Canadian National Team, but neither saw action in the game.
Both the Americans and the Canadians have clinched berths in the 2008 Summer Olympics. For more information on the 2008 Peace Queen Cup, log on to www.ussoccer.com or www.canadasoccer.com.
Filigno has 14 caps under her belt as a member of the Canadian National Team. She scored her first international goal in Team Canada's 6-0 win over Trinidad & Tobago in the CONCACAF Olympic Qualifying Tournament. Her first appearance on the squad was against the US National Team in the Four Nations Cup, held in China. Filigno attends St. Marcellinus Secondary School in Mississauga, Ontario. She played four years as a forward for the Mississauga Dixie Saints club team under head coach Tony Ronca, leading the team to the 2007 Championship of the Score at the Shore tournament as well as the Championship of the Kalamazoo Invitational Soccer Showcase (KISS).
LeBlanc has played with the Canadian Women's National Team since 1997, with 62 caps under her belt. She led the Canadians to a fourth-place finish at the 2003 Women's World Cup as well as a spot in the 1999 Women's World Cup, competed at the 1999 Pan-American Games and has served as a worldwide ambassador for the Canadian WNT. LeBlanc has served as an assistant coach for Rutgers the past three seasons, helping make RU one of the best defensive teams in the BIG EAST.
As a Scarlet Knight, Lloyd helped Rutgers earn four BIG EAST Tournament berths and two trips to the NCAA Tournament, including a Sweet Sixteen finish in 2001. She was the first RU player to earn first-team all-BIG EAST honors four times (2001-2004), and in 2004 was named the BIG EAST Conference Midfielder of the Year as well as being named to the Soccerbuzz All-America Second Team, the National Soccer Coaches Association of America (NSCAA) Mid-Atlantic Region All-Third Team and the Soccerbuzz Mid-Atlantic Region First Team.
She finished her career at Rutgers as the all-time leader in points (117) and goals (50). The four-time All-American also was a finalist for the 2004 Soccerbuzz National Player-of-the-Year Award, and was named a semifinalist for the Hermann Trophy, the official NSCAA national player-of-the-year award.
Lloyd earned her first invitation to the Women's National Team camp during the summer of 2004, joining Team USA at its Olympic Residency Camp three times. Her first start for the WNT came on March 11, 2006, and she scored her first goal on Oct. 1 against Chinese Taipei. Lloyd played with Team USA in the 2007 Women's World Cup and has 48 caps and 10 goals under her belt.
